Motorcycle accidents are often fatal. A Hyderabad techie lost his life in the wee hours of Saturday because of the engine seizure of the Bajaj Pulsar RS200 he was riding.

What happened?

The 24-year-old rider, identified as Pulavarthi Venkata Satya Nagendra, was travelling with a friend from Hyderabad to Vijayawada on the Pulsar RS200. The duo wanted to explore Vijayawada for the weekend.

The accident took place at 1 am on National Highway 65 near Nadigama town. According to the police, the riders were doing an average speed of 100 km/h. The engine of the Pulsar RS 200 seized and this resulted in the rear wheel immediately getting locked. The sudden locking of the rear wheel catapulted the riders off the bike. Both the riders were wearing helmets and suffered minor injuries from the fall.

However, police say that an unidentified car that was coming from behind ran over Nagendra at high-speed, crushing his head and killing him on the spot. The car fled the scene. Preliminary examination reveals that the engine seizure happened because of the low level of engine oil. Engine oil lubricates the fast moving parts of the engine and also keeps the engine cool. As the level of the oil was low, it caused the engine to heat up quickly.

Pulavarthi Nagendra

This, coupled with the high-speed at which the bike was travelling, led to the engine burning the remaining oil, finally causing the catastrophic engine seizure. The motorcycle was registered last year and is relatively new.

The police have registered a case under IPC 304C (causing death due to negligence) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life). The police are trying to trace the car that hit Nagendra. The Bajaj Pulsar RS200 comes with a low-oil warning lamp. It is not clear if the warning lamp warned the riders, who ignored it and continued with their journey.

Engine seizure

Engine seizure can be dangerous if it happens when the vehicle is in motion. The engine’s parts can get stuck, locking up the rear wheel. If this happens when the vehicle is moving at high speed, riders can be thrown off the motorcycle. Here are a few reasons that can cause the engine to stop working.

Use of wrong fuel – If the engine is fed with wrong fuel, it will seize. Diesel fuel in petrol engine and vice-versa can cause engine seizure.

Low engine oil – Low level of oil in the engine can cause the engine temperature to rise exponentially and lead to engine failure.

Adulterated fuel – If modern engines are fed with low quality or adulterated fuel, it may fail. Adulterated fuel does not provide enough power to move the pistons and can cause heavy, irreversible damage to the engine.

Hydrolocking – If water enters the engine compartment, it can cause the engine to fail. Water, especially if it enters from the air-intake, can cause huge damage to the engine.

Radiator failing – Many engines that operate at extremely high temperatures kept cool with the help of a radiator. If the radiator fails, it can cause the engine temperature to rise considerably, causing it to fail.

Oil-sump breaking – If the oil sump hits an obstacle and breaks, the engine oil is drained out. An engine running without oil can seize.

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